Question about moving to South Florida, South Beach (Miami, Miami Beach: affordable apartments, foreclosures)

[Casportsfan]

Hello all. I am currently living on the west coast and have for my entire life. I am considering relocating. My two options are currently are Seattle and Miami. I have never been to Miami or even the East Coast for that matter.

Before you respond with the standard quo about moving to a place you've never been or moving in a down economy, I have zero debt, I am single, I have a college degree, and I just want a change. I've got enough money saved up to last a good year even just waiting tables should it come to that.

From my research, I see studio apartments in South Beach and Miami Beach beginning at only $750 on sites such as apartment.com and rent.com. I am wondering, what are the drawbacks to living on this sliver island opposite Miami?

Are these high crime areas, or are they undesireable areas to live due to loud tourists and party goers? Maybe traffic getting to Miami? I expected the rents to be much, much higher, given South Beach's reputation and the fact that Florida was hit very hard with foreclosures, which should increase the demand in the rental market.

Also, I have heard that the beaches are lively all year round. Is this true?

Any advice from anyone that has lived on this island?

Thanks.

[feelquiet]

Most of those cheaper studios on South Beach don't have assigned parking. So one big downside is if you have residential street parking which can be hard to find at night. You will need a car to get around Miami.

South Beach doesn't really have any "high crime" areas as South Beach is a pretty small section of a small barrier island. The cheap studios probably indicate that it's an older building without many amenities that hasn't been recently renovated.

There are relatively few traffic issues commuting to/from the mainland to Miami Beach, except when there's an accident on the causeway or a special event on the beach. It's actually busier on the weekends than a regular weekday. The beaches are slower during the summer months than during the busy tourist season of +/- November thru April, but there're still plenty of activities.

The restaurants where I live are still suprisingly busy, but with so many people out of jobs, I don't see any help wanted signs. If you're an accountant (not finance), jobs are still relatively plentiful, but other jobs are very hard to find. In your situation, I can't say that I would choose to relocate to Miami at this point. Good luck.

[Bostonian08]

The "sliver" Island of Miami Beach is really the heart of Miami. It's like a little Manhattan. It's 193 blocks long in Dade and has a population density of over 12000 people per square mile - a lot of tall buildings. If you include the tourists it's probably double that and on weekends when everyone comes from Miami it's just packed.

Yes, MB is absolutely happening year round. Well maybe it slows after the fourth of July a bit, not sure, I always left shortly thereafter and returned in Oct/Nov.

MB is perfectly safe imo. Miami overall is a wild place where people just get as decadent as they want. Given that it won't be as mild as a convent yard, but I had a great time there. There are more females than males and they tend to look really good and are startlingly uninhibited.

Why $750? I paid $42 dollars per week there in 86 two blocks from the beach. Florida is just cheaper, that's all there is to it. You won't get the ritz for $750 and you'll probably have to spray for roaches, but that's the extent of it really. No gang wars noise is reasonable for a 24 hour party city. To a Californian or a NYer it's an incredible bargain. Traffic from MB to the mainland was usually a breeze except when the drawbridges are up, then you can be stuck for a while. I had a motorcycle though, so I did no waiting. Often considered an Evel Kneivel move.

If your looking for fun and excitement in your life, MB has plenty of that. The level of energy there is rare in the world. If that's what you're looking for, you'll love it.

[Casportsfan]

Originally Posted by Bostonian08

The "sliver" Island of Miami Beach is really the heart of Miami. It's like a little Manhattan. It's 193 blocks long in Dade and has a population density of over 12000 people per square mile - a lot of tall buildings. If you include the tourists it's probably double that and on weekends when everyone comes from Miami it's just packed.

Yes, MB is absolutely happening year round. Well maybe it slows after the fourth of July a bit, not sure, I always left shortly thereafter and returned in Oct/Nov.

MB is perfectly safe imo. Miami overall is a wild place where people just get as decadent as they want. Given that it won't be as mild as a convent yard, but I had a great time there. There are more females than males and they tend to look really good and are startlingly uninhibited.

Why $750? I paid $42 dollars per week there in 86 two blocks from the beach. Florida is just cheaper, that's all there is to it. You won't get the ritz for $750 and you'll probably have to spray for roaches, but that's the extent of it really. No gang wars noise is reasonable for a 24 hour party city. To a Californian or a NYer it's an incredible bargain. Traffic from MB to the mainland was usually a breeze except when the drawbridges are up, then you can be stuck for a while. I had a motorcycle though, so I did no waiting. Often considered an Evel Kneivel move.

If your looking for fun and excitement in your life, MB has plenty of that. The level of energy there is rare in the world. If that's what you're looking for, you'll love it.

Thank you both for your replies, very informative. Being from Northern California (bay area), I am very suprised by the low rents, it does sound like a pretty cool place to be, even if just for the short term! I am pretty low maintenance, so I think I could deal with a cockroach or two.

I am an accountant by the way, so it sounds as if I might possibly have some options jobwise. Decadence would be welcome for me after hours upon hours of sitting in a cubicle lol.

[Bostonian08]

Originally Posted by Casportsfan

Thank you both for your replies, very informative. Being from Northern California (bay area), I am very suprised by the low rents, it does sound like a pretty cool place to be, even if just for the short term! I am pretty low maintenance, so I think I could deal with a cockroach or two.

I am an accountant by the way, so it sounds as if I might possibly have some options jobwise. Decadence would be welcome for me after hours upon hours of sitting in a cubicle lol.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by what a nice social life you can have in MIA. My impression was that just by virtue of the fact I went to work three days a week in MIA I was seen by many as some sort of local hero!

[Casportsfan]

Originally Posted by Bostonian08

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by what a nice social life you can have in MIA. My impression was that just by virtue of the fact I went to work three days a week in MIA I was seen by many as some sort of local hero!

Yeah there is one factor that I am weighing more and more heavily in considering a move: the weather.

I find that in areas where the weather is sunny most of the year, the relative social climate is more energetic, lively, and friendly. This is one reason that I am rating Miami above Seattle at this point (although I still love Seattle).

It would be great to live in a place where I could just come home from work and go straight to the beach as upposed to a coffee shop, which is where I would most likely spend the majority of my weeknights in Seattle.

I've also noticed on this board a lot of people say Miami is dirty. Then, I was researching Miami on wikipedia and ran accross a link where Forbes magazine rated Miami the cleanest city in America in 2008 lol . . . go figure.

[Bostonian08]

Miami Beach is an island 2 miles out to sea from Miami. Sections of Liberty City aren't much nicer than Port Au Prince. But Biscayne Bay is one of the most beautiful places you'll ever city. The Miami ocean is sparkling turquoise.

Miami certainly is energetic. People there are real personable - nosey even. Melodramatic. Hot passioned, but hot tempered. Exciting, thrilling, but risky. You may be thrilled when a hot latin babe jumps in the sack with you with wild abandon. You might not be so happy when she has her guilt trip and goes and confesses to her husband. It's like that. With passionate people there is melodrama.

You can do the coffee shop and the beach in the same chair at the News Cafe on Ocean Drive. You'll get tired of the beach after a while and won't go to it anymore. And chances are like me you'll stay in MIA for a few years, then won't be able to deal with the drama anymore and leave. But you'll make lifelong friends and gain memories of a life more fully explored than you could ever get in Seattle or Boston. It's an intense place. My sister lived in NYC for five years and found the people in MIA way too wild.

I saw a girl being interviewed and in describing the decadence of MIA she stated there must be something in the air around here. It's true. It's like how the moon makes people crazier. Like Will smith said - there's no place like Miami.

[Indy2Mia2Atl]

I use to live on South Beach and I loved it. You CAN find affordable apartments on the beach, but just know that they are usually in really old buildings and aren't up to date at all, but you'll be on South Beach and probably won't be in the house much anyway. I use to live in the Mirador on West Avenue. Those were the days...

[doggiebus]

Originally Posted by Casportsfan

I've also noticed on this board a lot of people say Miami is dirty. Then, I was researching Miami on wikipedia and ran accross a link where Forbes magazine rated Miami the cleanest city in America in 2008 lol . . . go figure.

Some parts of Miami, don't look that clean, but they aren't what I would call dirty, like dirty in a third world country. These areas are probably pretty clean, maybe why Miami was ranked highly by Forbes. Its just that those run down looking areas (even though they may be clean), many people will consider them dirty because of the run down buildings, the bars on the windows, no lawns, etc. Its really a perception of being dirty more so than actual garbage around.

[Casportsfan]

Originally Posted by Bostonian08

Miami Beach is an island 2 miles out to sea from Miami. Sections of Liberty City aren't much nicer than Port Au Prince. But Biscayne Bay is one of the most beautiful places you'll ever city. The Miami ocean is sparkling turquoise.

Miami certainly is energetic. People there are real personable - nosey even. Melodramatic. Hot passioned, but hot tempered. Exciting, thrilling, but risky. You may be thrilled when a hot latin babe jumps in the sack with you with wild abandon. You might not be so happy when she has her guilt trip and goes and confesses to her husband. It's like that. With passionate people there is melodrama.

You can do the coffee shop and the beach in the same chair at the News Cafe on Ocean Drive. You'll get tired of the beach after a while and won't go to it anymore. And chances are like me you'll stay in MIA for a few years, then won't be able to deal with the drama anymore and leave. But you'll make lifelong friends and gain memories of a life more fully explored than you could ever get in Seattle or Boston. It's an intense place. My sister lived in NYC for five years and found the people in MIA way too wild.

I saw a girl being interviewed and in describing the decadence of MIA she stated there must be something in the air around here. It's true. It's like how the moon makes people crazier. Like Will smith said - there's no place like Miami.

This sounds great to me! Bring on some drama after the cube. I love the Latin women too. That's honestly another factor that pushes me towards moving there.